


say you're searching

by shrdmdnssftw



Category: Mamamoo, Winner (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Libraries, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-14
Updated: 2014-12-14
Packaged: 2018-03-11 08:26:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3320642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shrdmdnssftw/pseuds/shrdmdnssftw
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Hyejin has always liked reading but it’s only when she’s fourteen that a book ever sucks her in. Literally.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	say you're searching

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written as part of [nuguseyo 2014](http://nugu-seyo.livejournal.com/12103.html) for [LJ user dislike](http://dislike.livejournal.com). Cleaned up and cross-posted here and at [LJ](http://shrdmdnssftw.livejournal.com/29427.html).

Hyejin has always liked reading but it’s only when she’s fourteen that a book ever sucks her in. Literally.  
  
-  
  
One of the perks of working at the library, aside from conveniently being able to access textbooks during exam times, is learning to recognise other students. One of the downsides of recognising other students is suddenly being suspicious of everyone that is in the library too often.  
  
Taehyun sort of gets it - he works there, can understand an appreciation of literature and of silence - but most people who frequent the building are there only temporarily, or stay out in the open desk spaces, trying to get a nice view of the outside world while they are kept inside. There’s this one girl, however, that has caught his attention, mostly because she doesn't follow the norm.  
  
For as long as Taehyun’s been working at his university’s library, she’s been there. Usually five times a week, or four if the weather is bad. Rather than heading to the larger study areas or the reference book section, she heads over to the smaller alcove where the fiction books are held. Their library doesn’t have too much in the favour of novels, mostly just old fairy tale compilations, folk tales and the like.  
  
Honestly, Taehyun probably wouldn’t have noticed her if not for her hair - short, almost the same length as his, and dyed an eye-catching blonde. It’s the crown of her hair that he sees most often, roots peeking through as she buries her head in a book. She’ll stay there for hours, even as Taehyun ends his shift.  
  
“Why do you care so much?” Mino asks him one day, during their shared lunch break. He’s eating a roll of kimbap, and it’s kind of gross to look at but it’s a better sight than the rain outside. Taehyun takes a bite of his own lunch, leftovers from last night, before he replies.  
  
“It’s just odd, don’t you think?” Taehyun says. “She’s always here but never borrows out books. And she’s always reading the same sort of books as well - I’ve never seen her pick up a non-fiction book.”  
  
“I’ve never seen you pick up any books,” quips Mino and Taehyun rolls his eyes.  
  
“I work here, you punk. I have to pick up the books all the time.  
  
And that’s another thing,” Taehyun says. “She never puts the books back where they came from. I swear, one day I’m going to talk to her -”  
  
“And ask for her number?”  
  
“What? No,” splutters Taehyun. “That’s ridiculous - I’ll tell her off. She could at least put her books on the trolley if she’s not sure where they go.”  
  
Mino seems to be smirking at him. “Sure, tell her off. And  _then_  ask for her number, right? She's pretty hot.”  
  
Taehyun frowns. “I don’t want her number, and I don’t think she’s that hot. She’s probably older than me.”  
  
“What’s wrong with dating older people?” Mino asks.  
  
“Nothing, nothing,” replies Taehyun. “Just. She’s odd, that’s all. I just noticed she’s here so often.”  
  
“Maybe she’s trying to memorise a book for a class, and has too many overdue books so she can’t hire this one out, and that’s why she’s in here every day.”  
  
“That’s an awfully specific reason,” Taehyun says, raising an eyebrow at Mino.  
  
“I mean, I’ve heard of it happening. Not to anyone specific or anything. Just - it’s possible?” Mino does his best to avoid Taehyun’s gaze and Taehyun tries not to laugh.  
  
“Anything’s possible,” replies Taehyun. “Not everything is probable, though. I just think she’s  _weird_ , that’s all.”  
  
He finishes the last piece of pancake that he’d packed and, on checking his watch, realises that their lunch break is almost over. Mino’s still chewing on his last mouthful of food when Taehyun starts to pack up his own stuff.  
  
“What, are you off?” mumbles Mino.  
  
“Break’s over,” says Taehyun. “And I have to start sorting the books out, so you’re on front desk duty.”  
  
“Yes sir,” Mino replies. Despite being older, he’s always quick to listen to Taehyun. Sometimes, it makes Taehyun wonder if he’s being made fun of, but then again, Mino always follows through. They’ve been coworkers for a few months but Taehyun still can’t get a good read on Mino.  
  
Still, it’s thoughts for another time, and Taehyun leaves Mino to get back to work, and possibly let his thoughts dwell a bit on the girl in the fiction section, and why she’s actually there.  
  
-  
  
The first person Hyejin tells is, of course, Hweein. Her parents would never really believe her, she knows that, but that’s what friends are for.  
  
“So where do you go?” Hweein asks, voice quiet but filled with awe. “ _Inside_  the story?”  
  
“Mmhmm,” replies Hyejin. “I’ve only really done it once or twice but - it was amazing, Hweein. I talked to the characters and they talked back! And I ate some of the food and when I got up, there were crumbs on my clothes.”  
  
They’ve known each other for a couple of years now, and Hyejin is grateful that Hweein is her friend. They’re squished together in her room, mindful of Hweein’s parents sleeping just nearby, but they’ve built a little blanket fort and turned on a torch and Hyejin has a book open between them. They’ve agreed that they’ll try it once, see if it works, and then, maybe, see if they can use Hyejin’s ability for anything.  _Cookbooks, for sweets_ , was Hweein’s first suggestion, and Hyejin’s not one to say no.  
  
“I sort of just. Read? Out loud. And then I don’t know, I get pulled in.” Her voice is shaking a little. It’s nerve wracking but Hweein is smiling at her, and the words on the page seem to be smiling as well. Fingers bump against hers and Hyejin finds herself holding hands with Hweein. She takes a deep breath, and starts to read.  
  
-  
  
“So you’re a prince,” Hweein asks, voice skeptical. “Who just happens to be dressed as a pauper, and this cat is actually your manservant, who was transformed by the same witch that cursed you to never be believed by strangers?”  
  
The guy, Jinwoo, if Hyejin remembers correctly, nods once more.  
  
“And you want us to give you money, so you can hitch a ride to the castle and reclaim your place as rightful heir to the throne?” Hyejin adds.  
  
“Yes, yes, exactly.” Jinwoo replies. He smiles a little, seems glad that someone  _finally_  gets it. The cat, meows, as if to say  _isn’t that obvious_.  
  
Hyejin smiles. “But how do you even know we have money?”  
  
The cat walks up to them, and reaches a paw up to touch the book. “A little conspicuous, don’t you think?”  
  
“A gift,” Hyejin says, tugging the book out of the cat’s reach. “From my parents.”  
  
It’s not a lie. Her parents are happy to support her growing reading habit, buying her books and, once that gets too pricey, letting her go to the library alone. They only worry that she doesn’t have enough friends, though having Hweein over often stops them commenting too often.  
  
The book she is holding, that she absolutely  _cannot_  let Jinwoo see, was given to her for her seventeenth birthday. It’s a collection of folk stories, from European fairy tales to Polynesian mythology, with a number of Korean folk tales too. Prince Jinwoo is missing from the pages, or maybe they just haven’t gotten that far yet. Whichever it is, Hyejin isn’t taking the risk. The last time a character read about themselves, Hweein and Hyejin were torn from the pages faster than they could blink, and lost a sock apiece in the process.  
  
“But really,” Hweein says, smoothly edging an arm around Hyejin to touch at the book, “we don’t have any money. I’m awfully sorry, Jinwoo and Mr Cat-”  
  
“Seungyoon,” Jinwoo interrupts. “My friend’s name is Seungyoon and I wish he wasn’t a cat.”  
  
“Okay,” agrees Hweein. “Seungyoon, I’m sorry, but we have to go. It was nice meeting you.”  
  
“Where are you going?” Jinwoo cries. It’s a fair enough question - they’re on a long path, the only one that leads to the city and, if they were to read on, Hyejin knows they would probably come across multiple roadblocks. It’s a one way track, a plot that crawls on and on, but the two of them have had enough and, with a nod at each other, Hyejin opens the book, and begins to read,  
  
“ _And the prince, seeing that the road was empty, and the sky was turning dark, decided to sleep. He called to his companion, and Seungyoon came to his side, fur smooth and sleek in the setting sun…_ ”  
  
As she speaks, Hyejin is slightly aware of the world spinning, of Hweein grabbing her arm and the cat - sorry, Seungyoon - walking towards Jinwoo. The words on the page start to shimmer and then they’re back, pressed side by side in Hyejin’s room, barely half an hour having passed since they started reading.  
  
“Well, that one was boring,” Hyejin comments. “I’m not sure I’ll read that aloud again.”  
  
Hweein smiles slightly. “I don’t know, the prince was sort of cute.”  
  
“Do we even know he’s really a prince?” Hyejin says. “What if he  _was_  lying?”  
  
She stands up and Hweein lets go of her hand to let her stretch. It takes a lot out of her, when they go on these journeys, and it sucks when the effort wasn’t worth it.  
  
“Well, he’s handsome enough,” Hweein says. “A girl can dream, right?”  
  
Hyejin snorts and drops the book on her bed. “About princes that don’t have a kingdom to their name? No thank you. Boys are no good, anyway.”  
  
Hweein looks like she’s going to make a comment but then Hyejin’s mother is calling them to eat, saying to stop studying for once. They smile at each other, a little guiltily, because next to the storybook is a pile of untouched homework, but there’s always more time after dinner. Hyejin extends a hand to Hweein, helps her up from the floor.  
  
“Come on,” she says, once Hweein’s brushed the dirt from the hem of her pants. “I’ll race you.”  
  
She darts off to the kitchen, towards the smell of homecooked food, and hears Hweein cry after her, “that’s not fair! You know I don’t run in your house!”  
  
But Hweein is laughing and so is Hyejin and when they sit down at the table, Hyejin’s parents smile at them both.  
  
“A good study session?” her father asks.  
  
“The content was a bit dull,” Hyejin replies, “but it’s not too bad with Hweein here with me.”  
  
-  
  
“You’re really obvious, you know.”  
  
It takes a moment for Mino to realise that there’s no one at the counter, and that Byulyi is talking to him.  
  
“What?” is all he can manage to say.  
  
“You. Are. Really. Obvious,” repeats Byulyi. “Taehyun’s not going to magically turn around because you’re looking at him but if he did, he’d notice the giant hearts in your eyes.”  
  
“I don’t have hearts in my eyes,” Mino says, but his voice has less conviction than he’d want. “I’m just looking out for him.”  
  
“He’s shelving books,” Byulyi says, rolling her eyes a little. “It’s hardly a life-threatening task. Just tell him you like him, it’s been months now.”  
  
“That’s not it,” says Mino. “I’m looking to see if - that girl there, in the fiction section, do you know who I mean?”  
  
Mino beckons Byulyi over and she abandons her job of relabelling old books to stand by his side. “With the blonde hair?” Mino nods. “And the pink sweater?” A nod again.  
  
“I think Taehyun likes her,” Mino laments. “I mean, he says he doesn’t, but she’s pretty, and all he ever does is complain that she’s here. When I suggested he get her number, he seemed shy.”  
  
Byulyi laughs a little. “Or maybe he was disinterested. Her name is Hyejin and even if Taehyun did like her, she wouldn’t like him.”  
  
Mino looks at her curiously and Byulyi rolls her eyes once more. “I have a life outside of the library, Mino. She’s in my music composition classes but she seems to like reading more. I’m surprised I haven’t noticed her before. She doesn’t seem to go out often, and I doubt she’d go out with a wet blanket like Taehyun. Hyejin likes the chatty types.”  
  
“He’s not a wet blanket,” Mino says defensively. “I like Taehyun.”  
  
Byulyi raises an eyebrow and Mino backtracks quickly.  
  
“As in, I think he’s not a wet blanket. And he’s really chatty.”  
  
“With you,” Byulyi says. “I think he’s said five sentences to me, and we’ve worked together for six weeks now.”  
  
Mino takes a moment to think about that and Byulyi heads back to the other counter at the library’s front desk.  
  
“Taehyun said she’s here all the time, and he wants to know why,” Mino says, after some time has passed. “Why do you think she’s here?”  
  
Byulyi lifts her head again to look at Mino. “I have no idea,” she replies. “Maybe you could, I don’t know, ask? If she’s here often enough, you could talk to her.”  
  
“Taehyun’s the one who wanted to know first,” Mino comments.  
  
“But now you want to know too,” deduces Byulyi. “So just ask. Also, speaking of asking, just ask Taehyun on a date. I asked Yongsun when you told me to.”  
  
“It was obvious that she likes you,” says Mino. “I - Taehyun doesn’t do dates.”  
  
“You could still ask,” Byulyi sing-songs. “Seriously, just do it. Worst case scenario, he says no, and we have to rearrange the shifts so that you two never meet ever again.”  
  
“That’s so encouraging,” Mino says drily. “I’ll think about it.”  
  
“Good,” is her reply and then Byulyi’s phone is buzzing, probably a text from Yongsun.  
  
Mino’s theory is confirmed when Byulyi waves her phone at him and nods towards the door. “I’ve got to pick Yongsun up for dinner, do me a favour and help Taehyun close the library today?”  
  
Mino makes a noise of agreement - he could say no but Yongsun gives him free upsizes when he gets coffee from her work, so it’s in his interests to keep her happy.  
  
“Thanks, Mino,” Byulyo says happily. “I’ll let Taehyun know about the shift change too.”  
  
And before he can protest, Byulyi is off, dropping by past Taehyun to whisper something in his ear, then out the door, not stopping by Hyejin despite walking by her spot.  
  
It’s a little strange, Mino notes, but Hyejin is really hard to focus on. It’s almost like she’s not there, when she’s reading. That wouldn’t make any sense, though, and Mino refocuses on his work, pushing thoughts of Taehyun and Hyejin to the back of his mind.  
  
-  
  
The day Hweein is lost in a book, Hyejin cries.  
  
It sounds ridiculous. It’s over simplifying, it’s too curt. She’s not like a single sock, or even like Hyejin’s favourite necklace. Hweein is Hyejin’s best friend, and she is trapped in a story where Hyejin can’t find her.  
  
“ _What do you think happens,_ ” Hweein had asked, “ _when we go in?_ ”  
  
Hyejin had shrugged, unsure of the answer herself. “ _I’ve never tried going into a story while someone else watched,_ ” she’d replied. “ _I’ve only ever gone in with you._ ”  
  
And so they’d started experimenting - Hyejin would read herself into a story and out again. She’d popped in and out of a collection of Aesop’s fables so many times, the boy had stopped crying wolf and started announcing her arrival.  
  
They’d learned that while Hyejin was still physically there, she was somehow  _not_.  
  
“ _You’d reply, if I talked to you,_ ” Hweein commented, “ _but it wasn’t_ you _. Not really._ ”  
  
And that’d been the end of it, enough to know that, should anyone check in on them, they would be okay, just reading a lot. A safety net, of sorts. A safety net, and yet it hadn’t caught Hweein.  
  
She hadn’t reached the book in time, hadn’t held on to Hyejin’s hand and when Hyejin resurfaced, Hweein was… different. Hyejin’s almost certain others have noticed but said nothing. There’s nothing to say, because Hweein will reply but it’s not  _her_ , and Hyejin needs to find her friend again.  
  
It’s been just over a month and Hyejin has read herself into the same book over and over and over and over and over and  
  
“Do you need some help?” a voice asks her.  
  
Coming out of the story is always a bit disorientating, especially when Hweein isn’t there. “Excuse me?”  
  
“Finding a book? Or a copy of that one?” The guy nods at the book held in her hands, smiles kindly. “I - I’ve noticed you’re here often, or, well, my coworker did, and I wanted to know if you needed a copy of the book or -”  
  
“It has to be this one,” Hyejin finds herself saying, tone short.  
  
The guy seems taken aback and Hyejin rights herself. “Sorry, that was abrupt, I - I need it to be this particular copy. No one else seems to read it but I’m happy to give it back, if someone does.”  
  
That’s a lie, and each time she repositions the book, lest it be found and borrowed out before she can find Hweein.  
  
“No, it’s okay,” comes his reply and Hyejin lets go of a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “I was just making sure everything’s alright. And, uh, letting you know we’re closing now.”  
  
“Oh,” Hyejin says. “I didn’t know it was so late.”  
  
She’ll come back tomorrow, maybe in between her classes or after and -  
  
“- borrow it for you, if you need.”  
  
Zoning back in, Hyejin realises that she’s being spoken to. “Sorry, I - I’m all over the place. I should go, thank you for letting me know you’re closing.”  
  
She bows quickly, putting the book back on the shelf and leaving before the guy can muster up a proper response. There are eyes on her back as she leaves but it’s nothing she’s not used to. Sometimes it feels like not-Hweein is watching her but when she turns to the person that was her roommate, their eyes slip past each other, and the moment is gone.  
  
-  
  
“It’s a coming-of-age story,” says Mino.  
  
Taehyun tilts his head inquisitively at Mino.  
  
“The book, that girl - uh, Hyejin - is reading. It’s a coming-of-age story about a dancer.”  
  
“How do you know her name is Hyejin?” asks Taehyun. “Also, I’ve read the book. It has no love line.”  
  
“Byulyi told me her name,” Mino replies. “They have a class together, I think.”  
  
All Taehyun can think to say is, “okay.”  
  
Knowing this doesn’t quite explain why Hyejin is in the library all the time but a name helps to make the situation a little more concrete.  
  
“Did you want some?” Mino asks and Taehyun realises he’s been staring at Mino eating for a minute or so.  
  
“Uh,” says Taehyun.  
  
“Here,” and Mino gives him half his roll before Taehyun can say any more. “I made too much anyway.”  
  
Taehyun takes the food with a quiet  _thanks_  and they eat in silence for a few minutes.  
  
“She seems really attached to the story,” comments Mino. “When I talked to her last night.”  
  
“You talked to her last night?” asks Taehyun, surprised.  
  
“Before we closed up,” Mino clarifies. “She seems to like that specific copy.”  
  
“Are you sure  _you’re_  not the interested one?” Taehyun says and Mino looks at him like he’s grown a second head.  
  
“I -”  
  
“It’s okay if you like her,” Taehyun says, tone belying his feelings. “I just don’t think she’d like you.”  
  
“I’m not interested in her?” Mino replies. He looks genuinely confused. “I get that you like her and I wouldn’t do that to you.”  
  
It’s Taehyun’s turn to be confused because, “I don’t like her? I don’t know her?”  
  
“Oh,” Mino says.  
  
“Yes,  _oh_.” Taehyun huffs. “I told you I wasn’t interested in her.”  
  
“But - you seem into her?”  
  
He rolls his eyes, exasperated. “How can you know that? You can’t even tell I’m into you!”  
  
Taehyun actually throws his hands up in exasperation before he realises what he’s just said. What he’s admitted to.  
  
“You like me?” Mino asks. “You. Are interested in  _me_?”  
  
“I -” Taehyun starts. “I have to go, look at the time, break is over.”  
  
He gets up to leave but Mino takes ahold of his wrist. “I’m interested in you,” he says. Direct, to the point. “I like you, God knows why, so if you’re interested in me, I want to know.”  
  
Mino is staring him down and Taehyun feels the strongest urge to look away but he can’t. It’d be so easy to say he’s not interested - to play it all off as a joke. He has before but really, there’s nothing for him to lose in being honest, nothing but the fear of this being real.  
  
“I like you,” Taehyun says. The words are slow, sticking to his throat like they’re reluctant to let go. Of course, now they decide to stick. “I talk to you. You laugh at my jokes.”  
  
“You laugh at mine,” Mino says, a small smile forming on his lips.  
  
“I try not to,” Taehyun says with a wry smile.  
  
“But you do,” reiterates Mino. He looks a bit too happy about all of this, by which Taehyun means that it’s really hard not to smile in response to Mino’s grin.  
  
“You’re alright,” says Taehyun. “I like you enough.”  
  
“Enough to go on a date with me?” Mino asks, voice hopeful.  
  
Taehyun pauses but not for long. “Maybe,” is what Taehyun says but the real reply is when he takes Mino’s hand in his.  
  
-  
  
“Hweein, are you here?”  
  
Hyejin stopped counting the number of times she’s read this book. Hweein had chosen it, so Hyejin's heart aches a little less at the thought of the time Hweein has spent here. She  ~~hopes~~  knows that Hweein is alright here = she was always the stronger of the two of them.  
  
 _Is_ , Hyejin corrects herself. Hweein is the stronger one, the smarter one, and today will be the day that Hyejin finds her again, she’s sure of it.  
  
Hweein is the smarter one because she probably would have thought to bring her  _other_  self along to the library. It took Hyejin over a month to figure it out but less than five minutes to convince the other Hweein to come along. She has a propensity for books, this almost-best-friend, and takes Hyejin’s suggestion to study in the fiction section easily.  
  
When Hyejin had started reading, the girl that was not Hweein had been by her side. Though the area was small, Hyejin had found seats for them both and, carefully, had taken the other girl’s hand as they sat. A curious smile sat on the lips of the other Hweein, familiar but not, and it was the last thing Hyejin saw before ending up here again, and alone.  
  
“Hweein, answer me, please?”  
  
Here, her voice echoes.  _Here_  is a dance studio, walls with ceiling to floor mirrors, with barres lined up against another.  _Here_  is early dawn, always early dawn, in the same city they actually live in, but a city world’s away.  _Here_  is familiar, after so many read-throughs, but the voice that replies is not.  
  
“You’re Hyejin,” says the voice, and she turns to face the speaker.  
  
“You’re not Hweein,” replies Hyejin.  
  
“No, I’m not. Good observation.” He smiles. “She’ll be coming in a moment, she’s just getting ready.”  
  
“A mome- she’ll wh- ready for what?” Several questions try to ask themselves at once and it draws a smile - not quite mean and not quite nice - from the stranger.  
  
“Wait,” he says, stepping forward and directing Hyejin to a bench that was not there a moment ago. “Wait and you’ll see.”  
  
-  
  
“Your friend has a friend,” Yongsun says.  
  
Taehyun’s pretty sure there are rules about people standing behind the library counter - namely, employees only. Yongsun, somehow, does not seem to count. Byulyi is sending out overdue emails while Yongsun sits next to her, waiting patiently for her to finish, and occasionally commenting on the library’s patrons.  
  
Byulyi looks over to where Yongsun is directing her gaze, and Taehyun’s eyes follow.  
  
“That’s her roommate,” Byulyi says. “I think they used to be close but…” She trails off and shrugs. “It’s none of my business, really.”  
  
“They’re holding hands,” Taehyun finds himself saying, and it’s true. “I think - she’s reading to her?”  
  
From their vantage point, Hyejin is reading to her friend, hand in hand as the other smiles and Taehyun feels like he’s maybe intruding, just by looking their way.  
  
Taehyun knows that look - something between friendship and romance, but entirely love. There are too many ways to love, too many degrees of it all, but this love feels private. He looks away, and is greeted by the sight of Mino walking up to the counter.  
  
“You’re not working today,” comments Byulyi and Mino nods.  
  
“You were right,” he says and the reply doesn’t quite make sense but Byulyi seems to know what Mino means.  
  
“Ah,” she replies, smile stretching wide. “That’s good to know.”  
  
When Yongsun looks at her inquisitively, Byulyi shakes her head slightly, says, “I’ll tell you later.”  
  
Mino goes over to where Taehyun is standing and the latter does his best to not react. Of course, his best doesn’t count for much when Mino is right there, waiting for him to finish working so they can go out. Together.  
  
“I’ll be done soon,” Taehyun says.  
  
“I know.”  
  
“So just wait,” he continues. “Maybe over there.”  
  
He’s pointed over to the quiet study section, populated solely by people who have procrastinated essays and are blasting all kinds of classical music to power through the pages of text they have to write. Mino has never set foot in that area.  
  
“Here’s fine,” is his reply.  
  
“I’ll work more slowly,” Taehyun warns but it’s an empty threat. He’s as eager as Mino is, really.  
  
“I’ll wait,” Mino says. “Just let me know when you’re ready, I’ll be here.”  
  
-  
  
“She’s ready,” the guy says, and Hyejin blinks.  
  
She has no idea how much time has passed or where it went, except that now the sun is bright above them, above the building. The floor is free of long shadows, striped only by the seams along the wooden floor. It’s almost too perfect, this dance studio, but then the door opens and it  _is_.  
  
“Hweein?” Hyejin asks and the only response is Hweein sweeping her into a hug.  
  
“Hyejin, I’m sorry,” she’s saying, “I’m so sorry.”  
  
And Hyejin is confused because there’s nothing for her to be sorry for, nothing that is her fault. Hyejin has lived with the other Hweein for so long, too long - long enough to know that having her friend back is nothing to be sorry about.  
  
She tells Hweein this, pulls back from the hug and sees tears on Hweein’s face, is surprised to feel tears on her own.  
  
“No,” Hweein insists, taking a step back. “I’m sorry for keeping you waiting. I knew you were looking for me but I couldn’t find  _you_ , and Seunghoon, he said-”  
  
“You both had to be ready,” says the guy, presumably Seunghoon. Hyejin had forgotten he was there.  
  
“Ready for what?” Hyejin asks and Seunghoon nods at the room around them.  
  
“For reflecting. For knowing the value of each other and of time. For knowing the price of your power, and the power of your mind.”  
  
Hweein steps close to Hyejin and nods, small yet familiar, a gesture Hyejin has missed. The book is still in her hand and she takes a moment to consider what it really is. A coming-of-age. A tale of perseverance. Chapters on chapters on the value of immaterial things versus goods that come and go. Hyejin had wanted to leave quickly, but Hweein had wanted to be polite, to say her goodbyes. Then Hyejin had started to read, had left too soon. She found herself surfacing with a spine cracked book of bullshit philosophy, and without her friend.  
  
It was a mistake, to leave without holding hands, but not one Hyejin is looking to repeat. She’s got a firm grip on Hweein’s hand, fingers interlaced, and they hold the book together before she starts to read. Seunghoon still seems to be talking but they can’t hear much in the windtunnel of their own words. The room starts to spin, to morph and be misshapen, and Hweein stays the same. She does not fall away, like she had the last time, does not swirl into a mix of colours and flood the sky, far and wide.  
  
When Hyejin opens her eyes, Hweein is there, truly  _there_  next to her, and squeezes her hand. It takes a moment for Hyejin to process it, that Hweein is truly back, and in that time her friend pulls her into a hug. It feels so real and Hyejin has to wrap her arms around Hweein to steady them both. The book lies between them, dropped and forgotten for now, and there’s a different kind of silence that has settled on their little part of the library, a silence of understanding.  
  
As they separate, though still linking hands, Hyejin finds that has a million and one questions to ask Hweein. She starts with the most important one.  
  
“Are you okay?”  
  
Once they’ve left her mouth, the words seem trite but Hweein smiles anyway, like it’s enough to be hearing Hyejin’s voice.  
  
“No,” is her reply. “But I will be, eventually."  
  
Hweein pauses, takes a deep breath and makes sure she's caught Hyejin's eye. Her smile is small and soft. “I know I won't be alone in my journeys so - I'll get there.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story is loosely based on [the Inkheart trilogy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inkheart_trilogy) in the way that when Hyejin reads, magical things happen. Apologies if the ideas are a bit all over the place, I wanted to put more in but I felt like there was already A Lot going on.


End file.
